[Pokémon] Essence of Piracy

Essence of Piracy (PG-13)

Hi guys, this is my first attempt at a serious fan fic. Leave feedback, both positive or negative, it's all good.

This is a Pirate story set in a world of Pokemon. It's main focus will be adventure and action, and lots of it.
It follows Cross, the captain of the Sea King pirates in his grand quest to collect the greatest treasures in the world.

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"Sir, SIR!"

"What is it, Gallford?"

"They've arrived. They're coming in from the north-east, moving through the fog."

"Hmm, fashionably late. Very well, prepare the connecting bridge."

"Yes sir!"

"Gallford, don't forget. Do not make contact."

It was late afternoon in the waters of Briney Bay. The previously sunny sky was now replaced by a gloomy, melancholy cloud front, followed by a wall of fog from the north east. A sudden change in weather, almost fitting of the strange encounter that was to unfold.

From the fog a silhouette began to form, growing bigger and clearer as it advanced. It slowly made it's way into view; it was a large, strong ship. It had three large, square-rigged sails tied up to long sturdy looking masts. The body of the ship was a behemoth, the size of 2 to 3 regular ships. The hull was painted with a light, sky blue while the keel and rudder were painted with a much darker navy blue. Along the side of the hulls there were lined with sea shells. The actual deck was very spacious and the floor was grassy, instead of wooden like most ships. The figure of the ship was carved and painted into a Seaking, it's eyes fierce, always looking forwards and it's horn erect. On top of the main mast there was a black flag waving in the wind. On each of the sails and on the flag there was a painted skull with two Samurott head shells intercrossing into an "X" right below the skull.

The ship was about twice the size of the smaller, standard Navy ship that was awaiting it. The larger ship anchored very close to the Navy ship, towering over it. The difference in height was not expected from the crew in the Navy ship, who had prepared the connecting bridges that are put up to link one side of a ship to another. The Machops and Makuhitas on deck tilted their heads upwards and tapped their feet, wondering how they would safely transfer the passengers of the larger ship to theirs.
Their worry was soon replaced by surprise as 3 figures jumped from the large ship and landed on their ships. One of them looked up at the flag hanging from the Navy ship; the standard Wingull emblem that every Navy ship flew brightly and proudly. The figure shook it's head, as if it was ashamed.

A Machop took notice of the figure's less-than-satisfactory attitude towards the ship and stepped forwards.

"What's the matter cross, is the ship not to your liking?" Machop said in a very sarcastic tone.

"Let's get this over with," replied Cross the Dewott, shifting his gaze from the flag to the Machop.

"My name is Gallford the Machop, I'll be escorting you and your party to the captains quarter," introduced Machop taking a bow. Clearly he was one the higher ranking officials in this ship. He wore a large coat over his shoulders, almost like a cape, which had many badges pinned to the chest


"Follow me."

Gallford lead the party down a set of ladders and through a dark, musky corridor. Cross had always thought that Navy ships must have been better kept than his, but clearly that was a myth. There was a door in the end of the corridor with a glass window that glowed faintly in the dark. Gallford opened the door and the trio walked in to find a medium sized room with a large desk scattered with papers, charts, and books in the middle of the room and 3 Pokémon awaiting them.


The walls had marked maps and bounty posters pinned to all over. Cross couldn't help smiling, noticing some of the criminals in the wanted posters.


"Welcome, Sea King Pirates," said the Pokémon sitting in the chair behind the desk.

"I am the Head Negotiator of the World Council, Spoink. You can call me Guddah if you desire." said Spoink in a welcoming voice.

"To the right of me is Head of the Naval Unit, Palmer," introduced Spoink motioning to the Pelipper that perched itself on the edge of the desk with it's small stubby arms. Pelipper glared at the Pirates with it's eyes, analyzing them. The Pelipper wore a sailor hat and seemed to have an aura of oldness and experience.

"And to my left," continued Spoink with a chuckle , "is Gray. I'm sure you've gotten to know Gray very well. He is the Commander of the World Council Guardians after all, I know you two have clashed before…"

To the left of Spoink was Gray the Weavile. He stood there, arms crossed avoiding eye contact with Cross.

"I'm Cross, and these are my crew mates, Darius and Sally," said Cross.

Behind him was a Swellow, Darius, and a Lopunny, Sally.

"Though I'm sure you know that from the reports and wanted posters with our names on it, huh?" accused Darius in his deep, menacing voice. Sally giggled at the remark.

"Enough with the formalities don'tcha agree?I'm dying to know hat does the World Council want with us Pirates anyways? Just the thought of us being on this ship screams hypocrisy, doesn't it?" asked Cross, fed up with being left in the dark.

Gray the Weavile shook his head, "I couldn't agree more. Guddah hurry up and do this thing."

Guddah sighed, shrugging with it's little arms. "I guess we'll start at the beginning then."


"Roughly 4 weeks ago in the Soul Penninsula there was an attack on two Pokémon; something valuable was stolen," began Spoink.

"Wasn't us." Assured Darius.

"Surprise there…"taunted Gray.

"We know. The Pokémon that were attacked were none other than the Legendary Duo, Latios and Latias. They're alive and healing, and from what they have told us the enemy that attacked them seems to be part of an Organization. "

"Legendary Duo, aye? These guys can't be push overs then if they were able to defeat those two." commented Darius, "So what exactly was 'stolen?'"

"Well you see…a very important treasure." answered Guddah uneasily.

Sally's ears perked up at hearing that word. That magical, lovely, sweet, sweet word.

"Treasure you say? What could this treasure be? Must be pretty amazing if it has the World Council so excited."

"Perhaps you've heard myths about these treasures. The legends say that when the world was created, the strongest of Pokémon were given a piece of "this world" to protect, a treasure to guard. These treasures are what we call the 'World Essences". They are treasures that contain an aspect of this world be it physical, mental, or even abstract." explained Spoink, which then took a large breath, as if he himself couldn't believe what he was saying.

"I have heard of these Essences, now that you mention it. Very old Legends, I was sure they didn't exist…" exclaimed Sally in disbelief.

Cross and Darius looked at each other, eyes wide. They knew something about this too. "Are they…as powerful as the legends say?" asked Sally.

"They are real, and they are extremely powerful. The enemy stole the 'Light Essence' that Latios and Latias protected, and we believe he wants to collect all of them. We don't know their purpose or motives but either way this could turn out extremely complicated."

"Well, blimey…" said Cross shaking his head. "and I'm guessing you know who this 'enemy' is?"

"Well, we have a guess. Latios and Latias can't remember what exactly they looked like, but they do remember there was more than one enemy and that they said something about obtaining the rest. Not a surprise there. With one Essence you can gain a portion of the power it possesses, but combine them all…" Guddah the Spoink stopped talking and looked down at his desk. This next part seemed hard to get out.

"Go on..?" said Cross.


"Well they you combine enough of them you can create a 'Divine Essence..' This new essence would theoretically grant you the full power of every essence. " continued Spoink, nervously bouncing up and down.

"And where exactly do we come into play here…?" asked the impatient Darius.

"We need someone to hunt down and defeat all the guardians and gather as many Essences as possible. We can't do it ourselves because the Legendary Guardians would turn on the World Council and cause global distress. 72 large countries, nations, and islands abide to the alliance of the World Council. If we got into war with the Legendary Pokémon who protect these Essences, many would succeed from the Alliance and the world would be in fear." explained Guddah the Spoink.

So it was political. It's always politics, isn't it. Hiding things from the public, hiring criminals to do the dirty work.

"So you need someone to go in there as your little puppets and fight to the death with these powerful Legendary Beasts for you because the World Council can't afford to anger the beasts themselves?" asked Cross, processing what was being told to him the best as possible.

"Well yeah, that and the fact that we don't want the Organization whos stealing the Essences to wage war on us as well." Said Gray with a chuckle.

"The Sea King Pirates may be classified as a 'Rogue Guild' because they don't abide by the Guild Law completely but the World Council also knows you have experience with sailing into dangerous lands and are very potent fighters. We don't really have soldiers are qualified for the job as you. And again, we cannot afford to get into wars right now. The World Council is in a shaky stage right now, in the process of annexing 6 more nations at once." Pleaded Spoink.

"No deal." Retorted Cross. "Come on, we're leaving."


"Say Cross…" Pelipper spoke for the first time. "You haven't listened to the benefits to all this."

Cross turned back and looked at the worn out Navy Commander.

"Aye?"

"Well first of all, if you sign the contract the Navy and World Council will stop hunting you down as a Rogue Guild. Second, we will supply you with the intel to new, far off territories where the Guardians live."
Seeing how Cross was not yet sold he continued "Did you know that they hide the Essences in a treasure box full of…well you guessed it, treasure? As long as you give back the Essence you can keep ALL the treasure you find."


Cross looked back at Darius and Sally; they looked back at him with the same uncertainty he had.

"I..I need a moment to discuss this with my Crewmates." Responded Cross, leading his crew to a corner. They began to whisper amongst themselves, occasionally glaring over at the Navy men suspiciously.


"Treasure, adventure, status, and fame. These are things true Pirates could never resist," whispered Pelipper to his collogues with a laugh.


"There's no way these scum will say no."

"Treasure, adventure, status, and fame… These are the very things I promised the people who joined my crew! How could we say no?! I hate to take advantage of the World Council, but they're supplying us with so much…" whispered Cross looking back to make sure no one was listening.


"What's more, the Navy will stop following us," said Darius putting his wings around his comrades to bring them in a huddle. "Surely you've noticed how much they've been on our tail lately."


"Come to think of it, just yesterday we were surrounded by a whole fleet; they didn't so much as attack us. They simply delivered the letter telling us to come to this meeting," remembered Cross stroking his chin, " they've been pressuring us into coming into this meeting. I'm willing to bet they have Navy ships positioned nearby just waiting to attack if we refuse."

"They put us in a hard situation," said Darius before letting out a deep sigh. "What choice to we have?

"You know, they had me at treasure. Let's use these tools and get our treasure." giggled Sally, breaking the huddle.

"Besides. I think we all know what part of their proposal sounds the juiciest..." she continued with a wink, "The Essences we've heard so much about are real "

Cross nodded and approached Spoink. "On one more condition," he demanded. Spoink smiled, knowing what would come next.

"If these Essences are indeed real then there's one I wish to keep," explained Cross while glancing at Ghudda the Spoink. He knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Yes, I was afraid of this, and I've already gotten permission from the higher ups to allow it. You can keep the Sea Essence once you've found it."

Cross looked back at Darius and Sally. With a smile he lifted a thumbs up.

"Finally, looks like this is our lucky break, savvy?" sighed Darius in disbelief.

Gray stepped in, a look of puzzlement covered his face, "Wait a second, after all the Essences have been collected we're letting them keep one…!?


Why?!"

"I guess you're not aware of Pirate Lore, land lubber?" asked Cross with a smirk. He started pacing the room , his eyes looking at nothing in

particular, off in space. He continued.
"Well first of all our pirate crew has indeed heard of these Essences before; but only in myths. There's a legend tied to these Essences. It's said that there is a Sea Essence; a treasure that contains the power of the ocean itself. Pirate have sought after this treasure for years now, bloody decades, and whether it's real or not has remained unknown. If someone managed to find this highly sought after treasure would be crowned as the King of the Oceans; a Pirate King." He paused and pointed at himself, smirk on his face and whiskers bobbing.




" I, 'Shell-Blade' Cross, shall be the man who obtains that title."


"What an ambitious criminal you are. If the situation couldn't turn so dire I'd arrest you on the spot. Alas, let finish this whole damn process." said Pelipper hopping off the table and taking out a pipe.


"Then, let's finalize this contract. Once you sign it the Navy or World Council armed forces will not longer target you; your status as a Rogue Guild will be relinquished. We will supply you with intel on where the treasures could be, and a confirmation on the enemy as soon as we've completely identified them. We'll allow you to keep all the treasure and in the end, the Sea Essence."

When Spoink finalized the agreement he pulled out a leather parchment and a pen. He slid it across the table and Cross stepped towards it, each step making creaky noise. The room was silent.
After a final read through of the contract Cross took the pen and signed it.

"You've made a deal with the Sea Devils, Mate." He warned and turned around. "Off we go."

After the room had been cleared Gray walked up to Head Negotiator , Guddah Spoink. "We're really letting them keep an Essence?" he asked in disbelief.


Spoink began bouncing up and down on his spring-like tail, balancing it's crystal ball with a smirk.

"Not to worry, we'll let them get all the other Essences and save the Sea Essence last. If the enemy doesn't get to it first, then we'll have World Council operatives do it."



"They've given us 7 days," said Cross climbing the stairs to the deck . The cloud cover had shifted and sun was shining much brighter than it had been before, almost fitting of the pirate's newfound resolve. "Well, let's inform the rest of the crew.


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I feel like I struggled with this first part because of the lack of action; it's not fitting of the story. It's unlike any other chapter really since it's just the exposition, the groundwork from which everything will be based upon.It's also so long for an actionless chapter. I like my chapters shorter because they they aren't a chore to read. Without further delay, here it is.

1) All men shall receive equal shares of the loot, with the captain earning 2 shares while the Mates, Shipwright, Boatswain, and Sniper shall earn one and a half share and all other member receiving 1 and one fourth shares when it comes to treasures found on crew-wide explorations.

2) Any man may formally quit the crew, but running away without prior consent or withholding crucial information from the crew shall be dealt with punishment.
3) If any man is to steal an item from the crew he or she will be punished.

4) Every man has a vote in affairs of moment; has equal title to the fresh provisions, or strong liquors, at any time seized, and may use them at pleasure, unless a scarcity (not an uncommon thing among them) makes it necessary, for the good of all, to vote a retrenchment.

5) A Pirate shall always have his items readied and be prepared for battle at any given time.

6) When dealing with Jobs and Guild Missions a portion of the loot shall go to the guild, while any items earned or found while exploring may be awarded to the group that took part in the Mission

These were a few of the rules imposed in Cross' Pirate Ship. It was a ship built on trust on one another, because when you're a pirate the whole world doesn't trust you; you have to rely on each other.

And really, when you wake up every day to the sound of Wallace the Poliwhirl blowing into a loud horn, waking up altogether, doing the usual morning routine together the Pokémon in the crew really et to know each other.
From eating, to celebrating, to fighting, these pirates truly had plenty of time to bond, be it in happy situations, or life threatening situations.

They were much like a guild, with their guild location being their ship, the
Sea King. They didn't usually take traditional missions, unless they were extremely low on supplies and money, and even then not many people are willing to hire a classified Rogue Guild to handle their missions. Instead, the pirates specialized on other ways to getting their loot.

Exploring dungeons, which always yielded great results, going on treasure hunts, or the occasional attack on ships out at sea.

Don't take it personally, they would say. It's just business.

All in all what they did to get money and supplies was simply what they did best. Being pirates. And they were surely the best at it; the most successful pirates in the world, not that there were many successful pirates to begin with. Most would get destroyed in a dangerous island, or caught by the navy. It wasn't an easy life; you had to be crafty.

The fact they had become so good at what they do is the very reason why this morning would be a little bit different from all the others. It was time to set out on a journey that might take a long time to complete; if they didn't die first.

A likely outcome.

Ah but today would be the day; the first step in fulfilling a pirate's fantasy.
Obtaining the legendary Sea Essence, and this had the whole crew excited.

Speaking of the crew, there were currently 15 members in the Sea King Pirates.

"Shell-Blade" Cross the Dewott was the captain of the ship. Growing up he lived in a small port town where he was inspired by the pirates that would sail by to live a life of freedom and adventure. He is a very ambitious Pokémon, who constantly wants to get stronger, as a way to ensure his crew's safety. He cares deeply for his friends, and promised them fame and glory.

Darius is a Swellow that is also known as the "Bandit Bird" was the crew's first mate and second in command. He met Cross several years ago and soon after the unlikely friends formed the Sea King Pirates. In the ship he usually stays at the crow nest. He may seem cold to his crew but he truly does care for them and will always protect a fellow man. His hobby is sleeping.

Sally the Lopunny, also known as the "Killer Queen" was the third member to join. She is greedy and her greatest pleasure is obtaining treasure. She's very sneaky and cunning, and surprisingly smart. Although very cruel to other people, Sally is very kind and emotional towards her crew members, even if she tries to hide it.

Next was "Wave-Fist" Wallace the Poliwhirl, one of the more serious Pokémon in the crew. He's the oldest in the crew and arguably the best fighter due to his experience. His role in the ship is the Quarter Master, who takes care of the sleeping quarters and makes sure everyone is doing their job.

Sakotsu Nuzleaf, or "Sure Shot" Sak for short is the ships expert gunner. He's a quick thinking, bright, young pirate. He, along with Pierce, love pranking the crew together. His aim with thrown weapons is extraordinary.

Croy the Heracross is the Carpenter of the ship. His massive strength earned him the title of "Hercules" . He's easy going and usually calm, and very friendly. Croy's easy going demeanor is quickly broken when anyone messes with the crew's ship which he himself created.

Luxus the Elekid is also known as "Doc Shock". His high knowledge of medical procedures earned him his spot as the crew's doctor. Ironically enough, asides from his specialty in the field of medicine he's not actually that bright of a Pokémon. He's loud, and likes to pick on the other crew mates but is overall a nice guy. Nothing get's him angrier than Ace, however. Because he's so young most people underestimate his skills as a doctor, and he's very willing to prove his self-worth.

Ace the Magby joined around the same time Luxus joined and they've been rivals ever since. Ace is also known as the "Scorching Cook" for his ability as a chef. Ace is easy to temper and pretty hard to calm down. He joined the crew because he couldn't stand the horrendous 'food' that the pirates had to eat. He stated to Pokémon should suffer by eating that crap.

Pierce Gligar the "Silent Sailor" is the ship's inventor. He along with Leon come up with crazy items to use during their adventures, though he mainly focuses on gadgets. He's kind of nutty and a air-head but his mind is a great weapon and his creativity is an even greater one.

Near of the Western Caves is the crews storage keeper, or Boatswain. He is a Sableye who is incredibly creepy and has a dark sense of humor, cracking jokes at dangerous, perilous times. He is sneaky and mischievous, often using his shadow to fight for him. Near's joy is also treasure, he treasures gems and gold almost as much as Sally. His reaction with the crew can be described as limited seeing as he usually keeps to himself but he is a well trusted and dependable fighter and crew mate, and everyone would agree with that statement.

Alice the Gothorita is the crew's navigator. Beneath Alice's naïve and innocent looking exterior is a scheming, conniving, manipulator. Alice joined the crew because she wanted to get away from her sheltered, wealthy life and see the world. She ran away from home and met the pirates at the port, where she begged for them to take her with them. She's not experienced with fighting but is a fast learner and is getting better every day. Secretly has a crush on Croy. She, Leon, Sally and Near are probably the smartest people on the ship.

Drake he Scrafty is one of the crews Able Bodied Soldiers, or ABS. He is ill tempered and bad mouth and an overall trouble-maker. He loves picking fights and trash talking against foes. He is a rather small Pokémon but rather enjoys showing bigger, stronger Pokémon that he is indeed stronger.

Leon the Kecleon is the crews scientist. Leon is a genius scientist of the crew. He creates strange items and his whole fighting style is based on strange techniques and combos. He also has experience breaking locks. Leon is sometimes considered crazy, and gets along rather well with Near. He is, however, one of the smartest fighters in the crew and has a insane move pool to deal with most situations. He's wild and loud. No one asides from Pierce usually ever goes into his laboratory.

Alvida the Seadra is a veteran fighter. She earned the name of the "Royal Flush" because she has had a history of defeating some of the greatest fighters in bar brawls. She loves fighting and adventure however, and was a world traveler before joining the crew. She is one of the more powerful special attackers of the crew, using her speed in water and rain to her advantage. Shes wise, strong, and generally seen as one of the leaders of the crew. She is an old friend of Cross and joined at his request.

These were the members of some of the best adventurers and fighters in the world, and all though they all came from different walks of life and very different places, they all had one thing in common.

The desire to be great.

The faith in Captain Cross' promise of fame, fortune, freedom, and adventure; this was something all of the members fought and dreamed for.

It was the life of a pirate.

And in this day as the Sea King sailed towards it's next destination, they would get one step closer to their dreams.

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"So Cross…Let's be honest now. You were kind of scared."

"Hmm. Nope. Wrong as usual Sak."

"Oh whatever! Tell us the truth!"

"Yeah, now that you mention It Sak, he just told us about the deal. Come now, Captain. Tell us what it was like… deep in enemy territory…"

"Well, it wasn't scary. Aye, the word for it was…Awkward."

"Eh? Awkward?"

"Yeah, can't you imagine it? You're a pirate, always being chased by the damn government and you end up in one of their ships, welcomed. Then you walk into this bloody meeting room and who do you see? None other than the commander of the Navy who's sent fleets to follow you for the past month and Gray. That piece of crap World Council operative has tried to kill or capture us like four times now. Yeah, awkward is a pretty fine word for it!"

Cross, Sak and Alvida fell backwards laughing at the story. They were simply sitting there on the grassy deck, feeling the breeze and talking. It was such a calm day. The ship had been sailing for 3 hours now and the sun was barely visible behind a partially cloudy sky and their destination was nearby.

The wind blew gently, spraying the ship with drops of water and spreading the aroma of sea water, something all pirates came to love.
It was like the calm before a long journey. Everyone was excited for what was to come but there was also a unanimous feeling of uneasiness across the air. Were they ready, they wondered? But they could never show each other that they had a bit of fear in them. It was only natural, but regardless. You have to be brave and mentally tough, or at least fake it till you felt that way.

Darius swooped down from the crows nest, a larger platform on top of one of the masts, to interrupt the groups laughter.

"Cross, we've arrived. The Evolution Springs are in sight. Looks like it's a foggy day." He reported.

Cross rose to his feet and stretched. A smile found it's way across his face.

"Ahh, finally! Sak! Ring the bell at once. All hands on deck!" commanded the captain walking up the stairs leading to a raised part in the front half of the deck forming a long balcony. He would address his crew members from behind the rails of the balcony.

Sak ran over to the side of where a piece of rope hung . It was connected to the side, and ran through the insides of the ship connected to a system of bells positioned so when rung, the bells would be heard across the entire ship.

He pulled hard on the rope three times.

Soon the entire crew erupted from a door positioned directly under the balcony. They sat down on the deck and looked up at the captain.

" Good evenin' mateys. As we have discussed today we're going into the
Evolution Springs to collect some of its mystical water. As we all know the water is required to evolve a Pokémon, once they've gained enough experience that is." he explained well aware that everyone already knew why they were here. But it was protocol in the ship to discuss a mission and if there was any rules that Cross would follow, it's the ones he imposed on his ship.

"Honestly it'll be a short mission. Go in, get the water, get out. We wont even need a big party. The Pokémon native to the Evolution Springs are usually very kind, and the Wild Pokémon rate is very low there, not to mention they don't really pose any threat to us." He assured, not that anyone thought otherwise.

Despite the importance of today, it was really an easy job, and the Springs weren't really known for producing any great treasures, aside from the glorious water.

That's why when he asked for volunteers, not many wanted to go. It was a nice day. It would be a warm and cozy night, perfect for sitting down, telling stories and drinking some sake.

"It's gonna be harder to convince people then that, captain." teased Alice. She would know. She's a very convincing young lady, after all.

"Fine. Anyone who volunteers gets double shares of next expedition's earnings. "

This completely changed the tone of the ship. All of a sudden everyone wanted a piece of it. Well, almost everyone.

"Where do you think you're flying off to, Darius?" asked Cross, noticing that the bird was rising back up the crows nest.

"Seems like you have enough volunteers there, Cap'n. I'm getting me some shut eye."

"Oh, but Darius my good friend. You yourself reported how foggy it is. "

"And?"

"I'm just wondering who do you expect we plan to use for the defogging?" he asked crossing his arms and looking up with a smirk.

"You know what they say, Life's a Grind."

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This chapter was ridiculously long for my taste so I had to split it up into two segments. May become a common trend around here. Anyways , second part should be up later tonight or tomorrow.

"Defog…" muttered Darius, flapping his wings. Instantly a gust of wind formed around the Pirates that cleared the fog in a 10 meter radius.

"That's no way to say a move name, lad!" criticized Wallace giving him a tap in the back.

"Well I'm sure he's thrilled to be here," laughed Luxus, avoiding the intense glares Darius were shooting at him.

Cross, Luxus, Darius, Pierce, Drake, and Wallace chose to embark on this adventure, if it could even be called that.

The Evolution Spring was a low leveled dungeon. It was also pretty small. It was simply a small forest path leading into a beautiful lake. The water in this lake had the amazing ability to bring out the full potential of a Pokémon and evolve them. It wasn't as complex as other dungeons that would sometimes shift their insides and make the Pokémon inside it go wild.


The lake would sometimes create a deep fog.Such was the case today.


The pirates had been here before and nothing had really changed. There was a path that cut through the heart of the woods and lead straight to the lake. It was usually an operation that took only an hour there and back but the fog today was extra thick. If it wasn't for Darius' Defog move the fog would surround them and they wouldn't be able to see two feet infront of them.

Despite the inconvenient fog, the crew made their way through the forest in about 30 minutes without encountering a single threat, or finding anything worth taking back to the ship.

Cross carefully made his way to the edge of the lake. A dome of a light breeze still surrounded the pirates, clearing the fog around them.
If it wasn't for the fog you could see the beautiful sparkling waters of the Evolution Spring. In the sun it almost seemed as if they glowed, they would often produce a thin layer of translucent mist. Pokémon lived in the lake and would naturally evolve once they became powerful enough.


"Alright, get the containers. Fill up about 25 of them, "called out Cross.

"Why so many, captiain?" asked Pierce gliding his way to the bank of the Lake.


"Better safe than sorry. Who knows when else we'll get to come here."

Pierce, Luxus, and Wallace filled up several containers with the mystical water. The containers were handmade by Pierce. They were light and sturdy cylinders that could hold mostly any liquid.

After they were done they turned around and began their way back to the ship, which was docked only a few hundred yards from where the woods began. They would simply have to make their way back from the fog and then it was a very short distance back to the ship.


"A job well done," exclaimed Cross.

A few minutes into their backtrack through the woods and Luxus noticed some thing strange.

"Am..am I the only one that sees that light?" he asked pointing to the a glowing light in the fog. All eyes shifted to it.

"What is it-" before Luxus could even finish a bolt of lightning fired off from the orb of light towards the pirates. They all got in defensive positions, but the bolt seemed to pass each one of them, weaving its way until it found its desired target.

The lightning bolt struck Darius in the chest, sending arcs of electricity throughout his entire body and blowing him back a good 5 feet. It was a powerful blow, a thunder bolt attack.

Luxus and Pierce jumped down and covered Darius' body instinctively. If anyone was to take another thunderbolt attack then it would be those two; Luxus wouldn't be too effected and Pierce would take little to no damage at all due to his Ground subtype.

"He's still conscious, but it seems like he's succumbed to paralysis," diagnosed Doc Shock after inspecting his downed.

Meanwhile, Wallace, Cross, and Drake surrounded the group, back to the injured Pokémon and eyes facing out in different angles.

"What the hell was that?!" asked Cross, gaze shifting across the fog.

Whoever fired that thunderbolt was now well hidden in the fog.


"Whoever it was, it's not normal. A thunderbolt at that power and with that amount of control is not normal for Pokémon in the Evolution Spring." commented Wallace.

"Well ****, that's not our only problem…" Drake was referring to the disappearance of the dome of wind that had surrounded the crew moments ago. With Darius down there was no one to control the Defog attack. The fog began to slowly creep up around them, their vision was now heavily obstructed.

A light moved through the fog again. Wallace waved at the ground, launching three mud blasts in the direction of the light.


"If the enemy is an electric type like I suspect then my Mud Shots should have put a dent in it" said Wallace, awaiting for a sign of a hit. He was sure at least one of the mud shots had to hit the target.


"Psychic!" called out a voice. "Psychic!" echoed another.

A light pink colored burst of psychic energy came from one side through the mist, while a similar light blue burst of energy came from the opposite direction. The blasts collided with the pirate crew in the middle, combining into an explosion of psychic energy blowing Wallace, Cross, and Pierce away from the injured Darius; Luxus managed to hold on while Drake seemed completely unfazed.


"Psychic attack? Ain't nothing to a G. Aye, Luxus, give this seed to that lazy bird!" spat Drake, throwing a seed towards Luxus.

"Heal Seed? Good job hoodlum. Just what we needed" replied Luxus throwing a thumbs up, not that Drake would notice it in the intense fog. He fed the seed to Darius. The stiffness of his body seemed to melt away as he slowly got up on his feet.

With a cry, he swung his wings, blowing away a huge amount of fog, more than the past Defog moves.

As the fog was blown away the enemies were revealed; There was 3 of them.

They were all small, levitating creatures. This explained why Wallace's mud shots, which were ground attacks had little to no effect on the beasts.

One was blue, the other pink, and the last one had a large yellow head. Upon their unveiling the beasts fled back into the fog.


"Those three, they were Azelf, Uxie, and Mesprit were they not?" asked a still shaken up Daris regaining balance.

Cross rose to his feet from the psychic blasts. "This explains their raw power. We have to get of here…now."


The Pirates broke out in a dead sprint leaving the enemy behind. They had heard stories about these Pokémon, known as Lake Guardians.


Azelf, the being of Willpower.
Mesprit the being of Emotion.
Uxie the being of Knowledge.


They were said to be the weakest legendary Pokémon, but their power still seemed staggering.

While the pirates ran, they could see the lights race after them side to side, through the fog. They knew the enemy was in attacking distance, but all the could do was await to see what the enemy was planning.

"Sea King Pirates. Powerful warriors of the Sea. Could you be the ones who attacked poor brother and sister Latios?" their voice echoed.

"We cannot run the risk of criminals obtaining the power of these springs. Drop the water and leave at once." they commanded.

"Working our asses off for some water. Are you kidding me?!" Luxus cried out, keeping his pace.

The first attack came. A thunderbolt aimed straight for Darius' chest. Pierce weaved his way around and got in the way of the attack. It hit him and coursed through his body, but no damage seemed to be made.

From the other side a ray of compressed psychic energy was fired, a Psybeam attack.

"Get this weak **** outta here!" yelled Drake jumping up and kicking the ray,and deflecting it.

"Protect Darius at all costs, we need this defogging," shouted Cross, jumping over a large root blocking the way.

A shadow began moving through the side of the fog. It suddenly burst into the dome of air created by Darius, but it wasn't one of the legendary Lake Guardians.

It immediately fired a bubble-like orb of brown energy towards the crew, one member in specific.

The Focus Blast attack soared down before Drake could even notice that the new comer Haunter had fired an attack at him. The attack landed right behind the fleeing Drake, expanding into a large blast of fighting-based energy, blowing dust and mud and chunks of ground into the air and launching the small ruffian Pokémon several feet straight.

The crew stopped and turned their heads to the downed Drake, knocked unconscious by the powerful blow.

"Where did that Haunter come from?!" Luxus cried running towards his fallen comrade, eyes on the new foe making sure he wasn't charging up another attack.

It was only a matter of seconds before Cross had cleared the distance between him and the ghostly Pokémon, it seemed like he was going to knock it out with one blow, but he ran right under the floating creature, for he knew the real foe was lurking behind it.


Azelf the Willpower Pokémon was stunned that the pirate could see through his trick. With one large leap Cross drew his fist back, ready to unleash an attack that was fueled by rage.

"Azelf has the ability to control a Pokémon's will power. He didn't have a fighting move to hit Drake with so he controlled a nearby Haunter instead," realized Luxus, lifting Drakes limp body onto his shoulders.


"Retaliate!" cried out Cross aiming a powerful punch aimed at the Pokémon's face. It was a move that increased in power when a comrade fell in battle, a very fitting move for a captain.


Right before the punch connected, strange thoughts probed Cross' mind , filling it with calm and soothing emotions. Sunflower fields, sunny days, scenes where he was rejoicing with his crew,and large piles of treasure, these were a few of the thoughts that entered his mind in a mere second.

Retaliate, a move generally fueled by rage, was severely weakened by the calm emotions in the pirate's mind. The blow, which would have originally knocked the Willpower Pokémon down for the count, connected with its face and sent it flying back. Azelf spiraled in the air, it's tails flailing before it caught itself in midair.


"What…what happened?" asked Cross rubbing his head. It was cleared of the soothing images now, replaced by confusion.


"Mesprit, thanks…He really had me there, huh?" laughed Azelf. From the fog came out the pink colored sprite, Mesprit, being of Emotion. It shook it's head and scowled at Azelf.


"Come now brother, be more careful than that. If I didn't calm him down you wouldn't be up right now." scowled Mesprit slapping Azelf with her tail.


Uxie came hovered next to them, staying closer to the fog. Than his more reckless brothers.


"These Pirates are rather smart. They've been protecting "Bandit Bird" ,the Swellow, so they can keep their defogging up. What do you say we finish this quick? We've successfully taken down the Scrafty. They've vulnerable to our powerful Psychic attacks. Quick, before they can escape with the water," said the calm, collected voice of Uxie, the smartest Pokémon in the world.

Azelf relinquished his control of Haunter, who flew away immediately.

The Pirates had Butterfrees in their stomachs at this point. They were completely vulnerable, and so close to the exit of the woods. They knew they would be coming with all they had.

"Psychic" the Pokémon said simultaneously forming one celestial voice. The three psychic attacks came from the crew's right side it swirled together forming a spiral of psychic energy.

"Hit the floor!" yelled Darius flying his way towards the spiraling blast. His body was covered by a prism-like aura. "Protect!" he yelled.

The Psychic blasts smashed into him like a ton of invisible bricks. They bounced off his protective aura, bursting into beautiful colors of purples, pinks, blues, and yellows in the afternoon air.


"RUN!" commanded Cross. It was a dead sprint now. The Lake Pokémon fired Psychics and Psybeams left and right.


The attacks lifted stones and shattered rocks, split trees in half and cut through the dense fog.

The Pirates did their best to avoid the graceful but ruthless assault of the legendary Pokémon, who flew across the woods gracefully firing a steady stream of attacks.

Darius would block some of them with Protect. His sphere of defogging had been significantly reduced because he had to focus all his energy on avoiding the psychic onslaught.


A Psybeam hit Pierce's wing , sending him spiraling down but he opened his wings wide and regained balance.


Bursts of psychic energy would explode at Luxus' feet, he did all he could to avoid getting hit while carrying the downed Drake.

There was finally rays of light cutting through the fog. They made it.
Or so they thought.


A Pokémon flew towards them from the exit of the woods. Azelf had made it's way infront of them and was charging straight at them, glowing brilliantly.


"This is the end of the line, Pirates. No one can over come my will" Azelf cried, only feet away from reaching the group of pirates who did not stop running.

"Explosion!"

Azelf started to release his stored up energy for one massive blast that would knock itself out but also obliterate the pirates.

"We're screwed…!" panicked Luxus watching the Pokémon fly towards them.


Then, something unexpected happened. Wallace ran up and embraced the exploding Pokémon. Around them the air moisture quickly began to rise, creating a sphere of swirling air droplets around them.

Azelf tried to expand his explosion but couldn't; it had come to a hault.

"Not so fast, Azelf. My ability Damp. When active, it can negate all explosions." Explained Wallace squeezing the small Pokémon tight. He spun around and threw the glowing Azelf towards the other two Legendary Pokémon who had become more visible due to the sun rays penetrating the fog.


"You may have cancelled my Explosion, but we still wont let you leave!" roared Azelf, preparing for round two.


Cross stepped towards the three Pokémon with a grin.


"Remember this as the day you almost defeated the Sea King Pirates, " and with that he clapped his hands exactly two times.

"Encore" said Cross, before turning his back to the trio. "Aye mateys, back to the ship we go."

And with that, Azelf's Explosion detonated blowing the fog away violently and tearing the woods to splinters,catching Uxie and Mesprit in its massive blast radius.

The Pirates watched in awe, the adrenaline in their bodies running out.
"Good one...captain." said Darius in between deep panting.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~::~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Uxie awoke hours later, slowly hovering to the sky. Mesprit soon followed, but Azelf did not do the same. It had used up all it's energy in the Explosion attack and was severely fatigued.

"Azelf, brother... Your Will was the downfall of us this time." Uxie said calmly.

Mesprit flew closer, "Those Pirates, do you think they were the ones that attacked Latios and Latias?" she asked.

"I am... unsure. But I know there's more of them then we battled today. I don't know their intentions but they are certainly dangerous criminals, and if we continue to let them grow..." he paused.

"Uxie, we have to alert the Gate Keepers." said Mesprit.

"Yes. Solve the problem before it even starts," replied Uxie with worry in his usually calm voice.

I don't usually read stories about Pokemon only, but this is interesting enough to get me into it. It seems like you put a lot of personality behind your characters.

I did notice a few grammatical errors, but I'm pressed on time right now.

Wow, I really appreciate the feed back, thank you!

And yes, I'll openly admit that my grammar is a very weak point of mine.

It was dinner time for the Sea King Pirates. The dining room was always bustling with conversation and excitement during meals. It was one of the few rooms of the ship powered by the electrical engine located in the lower areas of the ship. It was rather neat, considering it was a pirate's dining room and very well lit by crystals on the wall which fed off the electricity, illuminating it like a ballroom.

Ace the Magby came out of the kitchen with a boiling pot of soup and baskets of bread sticks. An unusually light meal for the inspiring chef, not that the crew would mind. Without Ace they'd be eating nasty cold rations and stale bread. The Pirates took their seats in the long, rectangle shaped table.

In one end of the table sat Cross, Alice, Alvida, Leon and Sak. None focused on eating in particular because they were discussing something much jucier.

"So what do you have to report, Alice?" asked Cross, taking a sip from a barrel-shaped mug.


"Well, I've spent all day and night studying these charts and reports that the World Council gave us," she replied rubbing her temple, her fatigue very visible, "And it seems there really is only one safe way to enter the Cursed Ocean."

"Cursed Ocean, the most dangerous waters to travel on," said Alvida shaking her head, "It's a small ocean surrounded by dangerous mountains. Even I have only traveled to the edge of this ocean. They say the water and the weather are both extremely dangerous and unpredictable. Regular compasses don't even work."

Sak was in awe. He swallowed his food in one big gulp, eager to learn more

"And this is where the Legendary Pokémon are fabled to live in right? Scattered in the many islands of this ocean? I can't wait, sounds like a grand adventure!"

"Sak don't be an idiot. This will not be an easy trip," said Alice with a sigh,

"and besides, there's one major problem."

"And that would be?" asked Cross.

"Getting in," she replied , reaching into her wonder bag, a small leather pouch that could store many items, no matter what the size, without growing or becoming heavier, and pulling out a map. She opened it on the middle of the dinner table so everyone around her could see. The map was filled with markings made by Alice.

"I'm figuring that we're around here," she began, using her finger to mark the spot where she estimated the pirates locations. She could locate their area almost pin point without the use of many equipments just from her massive knowledge of navigating. "If we keep up this pace and leave at least five crew mates manning the sails overnight we'll reach the destination by dawn."

Sak looked down at where Alice pointed, "The destination is that mountain?" he asked scratching his head. On further inspection he noticed that the area labeled as Cursed Ocean was enclosed almost entirely by mountains , the spots that weren't were fairly far away from their location. Infact, the entire Cursed Ocean was left blank, with no detailed location of islands or land marks. It was like everything inside the ring the mountains was rarely visited territory.

"Well according to the Council's reports, there is a large hole stretching all the way through the mountain, leading us straight into the southern part of the ocean," she explained pointing to a spot of the mountain marked with a red circle. She was right, of course. If they kept heading north they would eventually reach that part of the mountain.

"There is a slight problem with this area…" said Alvida recognizing that area. "The Legendary Gate Keepers live in the three islands just before we reach the gap in the mountain, am I right?"

Alice nodded. "Precisely. But we have to take this route. Every other way into the ocean is either too dangerous and unstable, filled with bandits awaiting to ambush Pokémon, or are just plain out too small to fit the Sea King."

"So what are we going to do about these 'Gate Keepers'?" asked Cross staring at the map. They were right, it seemed like this was the best entrance into the ocean.

"They won't let us in without a fight, " cackled Leon. He had been silent studying the map. "Don't get excited but I'm sure if we sneak in right before the sun rises we could probably steer the ship right through the gap in the mountains."

"And if not?" asked Sak uneasily.

Leon and Alice looked at each other, and then at Sak. "Well, we're counting on it not being an easy fight. We need to get there even sooner than planned and do some scouting." Suggested Leon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~::~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Well their certainly taking their sweet time," said Cross looking around to make sure they weren't being followed. The Sea King was positioned behind one of the large, sharp rocks located near the outer ring of mountains surrounding the Cursed Sea, yet he still felt that someone might be watching them. After all, their ship was rather large and though it's color blended with the ocean it was still very easy to spot.

Luxus tapped his foot impatiently, looking up at the sky "I don't think it was wise sending Darius and Pierce out to scout. If they get injured again so soon I swear I'll zap em' to death!"

"Well maybe they're already dead," laughed Near. The crew went silent.

"Oh, but we would have probably heard some struggling by now if that was the case!"

Just then Pierce crashed onto the deck where most of the crew was waiting in anticipation.

The crew looked at Pierce, then awkwardly at Near. "Feel free to worry now"

" Aw for cryin' out loud, what happened?!" asked Luxus kneeling down next to Pierce.

Pierce regained his breath, clearly exhausted, even though he had only left the ship a little over an hour ago.

"Well, just like the reports say there are 3 large islands with several very small islands. To get to the entrance of the Cursed Sea we would have to sail through a small canal located in between all the islands," he explained.

Alice nodded, it was just as she had predicted.

"So where's Darius?" asked Sak.

"We were in the woods in one of the island, the one nearest the gap in the mountain, we had split up. It looked all clear and we were about to head back when I heard something swoop down through the trees. We had agreed that if we heard something suspicious we would simply fly back to a rendezvous point, but aye… Darius was nowhere to be seen." Pierce explained, getting back up.

"The sun will rise soon. The faster we do this the better," noted Leon looking up at the sky which had gone from a black to a light blue in the time they had been waiting. "Alright Pierce, we're going to need every bit of information you found in the islands. Let's sail in closer."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~:::~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Sea King slowly moved across the archipelago. There were many small

islands, most only a few hundred yards at most, usually less, however there were three clearly large islands. As the Pirates sailed and weaved past the islands they couldn't help but feel a strange aura, suffocating them almost. It felt like they were being watched.


They had arrived at the entrance to the Cursed Sea; a large gap in the mountain, splitting it all the way through cleanly.

"Is that…Darius?!" yelled Sak to the crew. The members working on the deck quickly ran forwards. Sak handed spyglass to Alice. "Why, I think it is!"

The Swellow was laying down on the beach of an island, upon closer inspection one could see that he was heavily injured and barely conscious.
As the ship sailed in the direction of Darius something swooped down from the sky, hurling large fireballs downwards, not at the ship but at the beach and in the path the crew was sailing. The fireballs exploded into fiery stars on contact, evaporating water and blowing the beach's sand into the air, as well as sending Darius flying into the air.

"What the hell was that?!" yelled Luxus holding onto the side railing of the ship as it shook violently from the explosions around it.

Another figure swooped down and grabbed Darius midair, another figure followed. All three landed on a different stone sticking out of the water in front of the opening .

"Are those the guardians?" asked Pierce pointing at the newcomers.
Three large birds perched themselves on three stones.The first one stood elegantly, a long blue tail moved around it in amazing fluid motions, he was covered by an icy air with small, bright crystals flowing around him. The second looked fierce, with spiky wings and a body covered by arcing electricity. The last was covered in intense, lively flames, his mouth radiated smoke, presumably from the fire blasts he shot down at the crew.

"We are the Gate Keepers, the Legendary Mirages," said the one in the middle.

"Articuno, Mirage of Ice."
"Zapdos, Mirage of Lightning."
"Moltres, Mirage of Fire."

"We rarely allow anyone to enter this sacred ocean without a fight," said Articuno.

"From what the Lake Guardians have told us, you are a dangerous bunch, we wont hold back," said Moltres.

"Only those who are worthy can enter the sea!" thundered Zapdos, literally shooting lightning bolts to the side with the flaps of his wing. "Send no more than two to fight us in our respective islands."


"I suggest you follow our instructions. We don't usually take hostages but we can't take risks with potential threats such as you," said Articuno, who had Darius in his talons. Darius was surrounded by a frosty air, slowly

incasing him in ice.

Cross slammed his fist onto the railing, gritting his teeth, "Why you! You're on. We'll kick your bird asses for messing with my friend!"

"Hahaha. Futile. You better hope you can, pirates. If Uxie predicted right about your motives in this Ocean then you better be able to defeat the Legendary Pokémon," laughed Moltres.

The three birds took flight, with Darius, leaving trails of embers, frozen air, and electrically charged air.

"I knew we'd have to face powerful foes to get into the Cursed Sea, but those birds are rumored to be beyond powerful," said Wallace shaking his head grimly.

"They train by challenging travelers. A traveler who wins is allowed to go on to the ocean. Wins are exceedingly rare," said Alice remembering her reports.

"They took Darius. What more can we do? Time to split up, right captain?" said Sally.

"Right. Prepare the mini boats. You know the drill," said Cross grabbing his equipment. "SET SAIL!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~::~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Seasonal Triangle, as it was called, was a small archipelago consisting of three main Islands. Blaze Mountain, Thunder Peak, and Artic Hill. The birds awaited in their respective islands for the prey to come to them.

The sun had risen by now. The Pirates would surely arrive soon. The

Legendary Birds took pride in destroying strong opponents who dared to attempt entering the Cursed Sea.
The islands had significantly different atmospheres and climates despite being so close to each other, just one example of the phenomenon that occurred the deeper you sailed into the Cursed Seas .

Artic Hill was a hilly island covered completely in snow. There was a large mountain in the middle that reached up very high. Articuno was perched on top of a large, snow covered tree. He positioned himself so he could watch the entrance to the Cursed Seas to make sure the pirates weren't making a break for it. Of course, if that was the case, he would swoop down with the strongest Pokémon in the islands to attack the ship and sink it into the cold waters.

"Surely those pirates wouldn't leave their ally behind. Could they be such scum?" Articuno said to itself. He noticed that the ship was still anchored where the birds had confronted the pirates.

"You're right about that!" yelled a voice. Articuno turned his head and looked back to see a stream of fire fly in his direction. He barely lifted off of the tree before the fire hit it, melting the snow straight into steam.

"Have you no shame, attacking such a beautiful creature from behind?!" screeched Articuno, rising into the air.

Ace and Croy stood on top of a snowy hill facing the enemy. They were in a large clearing, all around them was snowy woods. They noticed a block of ice about halfway between them and the enemy. In it was a frozen Darius.

"Shame isn't really a word in a pirate's vocabulary, Mister Articuno," said Croy.

"We'll be taking back our friend now, hope you don't mind!" yelled Ace.
Articuno frowned, "No, no that won't do. I'm thinking of making him into a beautiful statue in my garden."

Articuno spread his wings wide. At first nothing happened, but the wind quickly picked up and soon a blizzard rolled in, with large pieces of hail mixed within it.

Articuno swooped down towards the duo, his body unleashing a strange pressure that made it hard for the pirates to move.

"Ice Beam!" he yelled, shooting a compressed stream of ice aimed directly at the intruders

Ace and Croy split one going right and the other left to dodge the attack. Articuno was quick to see this and flap both with wings strongly, sending a Gust attack towards Croy, and a gust of snow towards Ace, or powder snow.

The pirates were caught off guard, both getting nailed by the attacks and blown into the snow.

" Doing three attacks almost simultaneously," stated Ace getting on a knee, "These guys aren't Legendary for nothin' eh?"
Croy had a harder time getting up; he was hit by a flying type move which he was critically weak to. "Ah, this will be a nice challenge. "

"So boring! There's no beauty to brutes like you!" said Articuno disappointedly.

"The only beauty I know is only found in my dishes," Ace responded jumping up into the air. His chest puffed up and he then released a stream of fire towards Articuno, a Flamethrower purposely aimed high, forcing Articuno to dodge downwards, "speaking of which, I plan on roasting quite a dish out of you!"

"Such simple attacks won't work on me," taunted Articuno.
In the time he was distracted dodging the flamethrower he didn't notice that Croy had made his way to Articuno, and right as he lowered himself closer to the ground Croy jumped up, smashing his powerful horn into Articuno's stomach, a devastating Horn Attack.

"Gah! Be-beautiful..!" he spat out, Croy's attack propelling him a feet or two higher. The onslaught didn't end there. A ball of fire came from Articuno's left, Ace's side. It exploded on contact into a ball of fire,a well aimed Flame Burst, knocking the beautiful ice bird into the snow. An impressive hit considering the powerful blizzard obstructing Ace's view partially.

"Let's finish this! Stone Edge!" Croy jumped up, launching himself above Articuno. With all his might, he threw two sharp stones towards the bird, a rock attack sure to put a massive dent on this bird.

"Simpletons. Reflect!" Articuno's body was surrounded by an almost invisible veil. As soon as the stones came close to his body they crumbled, reducing in size and force. They both his chest, cleanly and shattered on contact, however the bird was still able to regain it's footing. Anger filled his face.

"Using Reflect to half physical damage, that damn bird just saved itself with that move," Ace began to get worried. This Pokémon was not only exceedingly bulky but also smart. Croy backed away from the now angered Articuno.

"My fur," he said, looking down at the patch of beautiful, white fur on it's chest. "It's ruffled. And I think I see a little bit of blood as well?" he paused.

"UNACCEPTABLE!" exploded the bird. His tone sent chills down the pirates' spines. "Blizzard!"

It flapped one wing, creating an intense mix of wind and ice, lifting the snow on the ground along with it. It blasted Croy, sending him flying towards Ace. Ace caught his ally in his arms, the Blizzard not hurting him nearly as much. He used Flame Charge, a move that surrounded his body in flames to help him brave the oncoming barrage.

Articuno kept flapping, sending blizzard after blizzard effortlessly at the pirates. If not for Ace's natural ability, Flame Body, he would surely be frozen alive.

It was then when something struck the bird from behind, knocking Articuno back into the snow and stopping his onslaught.

"Steel Wing!" cried out a familiar voice. It was Darius, flying past the Articuno towards Ace and Croy.

"It worked?" asked Ace falling to his knees. He was just about done, Croy was doing even worst.

"H-how…?" Articuno muttered, getting back on his feet. It seemed like nothing could keep him down, especially with his protective Reflect protecting him from serious injuries. He panted deeply ready to rise and strike again.


"You didn't expect us to play by the rules, right?" said a feminine voice.Alice strutted through the snow with a squeezed berry in hand. Articuno knew the green plump berry as the Aspear Berry, a berry famous for it's ability to thaw out frozen Pokémon. Alice smiled, pleased with the execution of the their plan thus far.

"We demanded that you send two Pokémon at a time…! Fine have it your way, my partners surely have defeated any threats that have befallen them. We'll obliterate you on the spot!" Articuno tilted his head up towards the sky. The powerful blizzard dimmed out the sun for the most part, the pirates could hardly see outside the cone of ice. Articuno fired a blue stream of ice from it's mouth, surrounded by a spiral of cold air upwards at the sky, through the blizzard into the morning sky.

"What's he doing?" Alice asked her self. Why would Articuno not attack her? What was it aiming at? And then it became clear. Articuno said 'We'll obliterate you on the spot'. It was calling for back up.

"Not good..!" she cried, her voice barely audible in the increasingly powerful blizzard. Articuno's attention turned to Alice. Alice tried to focus he mind to create a Psybeam attack but the blizzard picked up radically and pelted her from behind.

"I'll start with you," Articuno's mouth began releasing an extremely cold cloud of air, freezing the air around it's beak creating floating ice crystals. "Sheer...CO-"

Articuno was suddenly cut short from finishing his attack. Alice looked up, relieved that it couldn't finish whatever it was trying to do. Articuno fell into the snow, his body not moving.

"That…should keep him down," Croy stood over the unconscious bird, his voice trembling from the cold.

"What was that? A Brick Break to break through the Reflect? Very nice Croy," complimented Alice with a wink. "That being said, we have to leave now for our plan to work. Articuno just called for backup."

She reached into her wonder bag and pulled out a badge with the crew's

Jolly Roger imprinted in it. It was a standard issue Explorer Badge, which when activated would teleport the user right back to their guild, given that the user wasn't interrupted during the somewhat lengthy start up of the wondrous item. Of course, this badge was tweaked by the crews inventor, Pierce, so that it would transport the crew to their guild, namely the Sea King.


As the blizzard died down Croy, Ace, Alice, and Darius all activated their badges, surrounding them in a yellow light and beaming them to their ship, which was now on a beeline straight for the entrance of the Cursed Seas.
Zapdos had been waiting on the summit of the tallest mountain a Thunder Peak, an islands full of tall jagged mountains. He noticed the fighting had started on Artic Hill and had been going on for a while.


"Where are the two pirates who were supposed to face me?" he asked himself impatiently. "Have they fallen to the wild Pokémon of my island? Perhaps I should have told them to not attack."


It was then that he noticed the distress signal from Articuno. "Of course these pirates wouldn't fight by our rules," he said shaking his head as he began to take flight, thunderstorms forming behind him. He looked over to the east, where he saw Moltres' island's volcanos erupt due to the flaming birds rage at the pirate's trickery. Moltres soon joined Zapdos' flight towards Artic Hill.


Midway on their trip they noticed that the pirate ship had began moving and was now entering the large gap inbetween the mountains, the Cursed Sea Gate.

"They're making a break for it, Zapdos!" cried out Moltres, his flames flaring up as he increased speed.

"Uxie was right, they aren't to be trusted," Zapdos lead the way into the crevices of the mountain. The pirate ship was making headway through the waters.

"You'll never escape!" yelled Moltres swinging his right wing and sending a cluster of fire balls towards the ship.

The Sea King was moving fast through the water, utilizing a conjunction of the strong air currents that blew through the Cursed Sea entrance and a large propeller located in the back of the ship, one of Croy's great additions to his sturdy vessel.

Some of the fire balls hit the water, expanding into star-shaped explosions, but three were headed right for the for the Sea King.

Cross stood on the back most part of the stern, which was the back side of the ship, with an orb of pressurized water in each hand.

"Water Pulse!" he yelled, thrusting the orbs into the water below. On contact the orbs created large pillars of water which shot up and shielded the ship from the Fire Blast attacks. The mix of water and intense fire created a wall of steam .

"Did we lose them?!" yelled Wallace who was doing his best to steer the ship in the rocky waters.

"I think so," said Cross holding on to the railing on the back of the ship. His optimism was cut short as Moltres and Zapdos flew out of the steam cloud like jets, Zapdos firing off a powerful thunderbolt towards the ship.

Wallace made a sharp turn on the steering wheel causing the boat to tilt left slightly, making the thunderbolt aimed at the main mast miss by inches and slam into the mountain wall.

"We'll never lose them at this rate, captain!" yelled Darius who had just made it to the deck from the teleportation room. "They're powerful and resilient!"

"Aye, I've got it covered. You ready Sak?!" Cross yelled over the sound of rushing water and explosions.


"Aye, aye, Captain!" Sak had rolled a cannon to the stern of the ship, Croy, Ace, and Luxus helped him steady it.


Sak aimed it carefully, he had to hit his target just right.

"Could they be aiming that cannon at us?" asked Moltres with a hearty chuckle, "these damned pirates under estimate our aerial superiority!"

"FIRE!" Sak yelled lighting the fuse. The cannon fired a small, explosive cannon ball, recoiling a good two feet from the resulting force.

The two birds dove instinctively to dodge the cannon ball, but it wasn't aimed at them. No, not even close. The cannon ball hit the mountain side, exploding on impact. The rocks came lose and started tumbling down; Right on top of Moltres and Zapdos.


"A…A rock slide?!" cried out Moltres before getting nailed on the head by a boulder.

The rockslide smashed into the birds, sending them into the water.

"Nice shot!!" the pirates cheered crowding Sak. He was known for his amazing aim but that shot was out of this world. Perfect angle, perfect timing, and perfect accuracy. The perfect shot. "They don't call me 'Sure Shot' for nothing" said Sak with a smirk.

The ship finally made it through the entrance, greeting the pirates with a view of a long, treacherous ocean.

"You know, when you live at sea like we do, you can tell how dangerous waters are by just looking at them…" said Cross taking in the view. It didn't look very different from any other water, asides maybe the clarity and color. These waters were dark and mysterious and on top of that they just gave off an eerie vibe.

The pirates nodded in agreement. Everyone was on the deck now witnessing their first 'steps' into the unfamiliar ocean.

"While there's still sunlight out let's sail to an island and set anchor. Tonight, we party!"

The crew responded with yells of joy, even the members who had just taken a beating from Articuno had enough energy to celebrate.

"Tomorrow, our adventure truly starts!"